


Heartbeat

by Queens_Prerogative



Series: Now that we found you, you can't just disappear [1]
Category: Julie and The Phantoms (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angels and Demons, Gen, Happy Ending, Mentions of other afterlives, t for language
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-26
Updated: 2020-11-26
Packaged: 2021-03-10 03:55:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,123
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27727138
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Queens_Prerogative/pseuds/Queens_Prerogative
Summary: “Unfinished business is utter rubbish. There are hundreds of different possibilities after death. Good places, bad places, medium places, limbos, reincarnation. For those that believe death is the end with nothing to go on to, their souls become energy. A soul has to go somewhere. If that manifests itself as a spectral being, there is a reason for that, but it is never unfinished business.”Or: the demon who owns Caleb’s soul demonstrates who is really in charge, the angel that lost the boys when they died is not a people person, and the phantoms find out why they’re really phantoms.
Relationships: Alex & Julie Molina & Luke Patterson & Reggie, Alex & Luke Patterson & Reggie (Julie and The Phantoms)
Series: Now that we found you, you can't just disappear [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2028221
Kudos: 51





	Heartbeat

**Author's Note:**

> Hey everyone! I watched JATP recently, loved it, all of the joy. I just want them all to be happy.
> 
> Slight shift in timeline. The boys perform with Julie at the Orpheum before being dragged to Caleb. When they're dragged to Caleb, Julie thinks they've moved on.

The Hollywood Ghost Club was opulent. Luke had never used that word aloud, not even in a song, but it was the most fitting. It was all art deco, with glamourous evening wear, glimmering chandeliers, and velvet ropes. Once or twice when he was alive, he had imagined being rich enough to afford staying somewhere like the HGC. If those dreams hadn’t died with him, they definitely would have when Caleb tried to force them to stay.

The song was irritatingly catchy, and they were like puppets on strings. Luke felt as though something had wrapped around his spine and kept pulling and pulling towards the stage. He didn’t want to go. He had the guys and Julie and he didn’t care if he was only visible to other people when he played, _he had a life._ And he sure as hell wasn’t some dead lunatic’s back-up.

As suddenly as the jolts, he felt himself stumble forward when the pull was released. Alex and Reggie both breathed (unnecessary) sighs of relief next to him. When he looked around, Caleb had stopped singing. The other band members had vanished. The dancers were gone. The crowd was silent. Cautiously, the three boys shuffled onto the stage. The crowd hadn’t been silent; they were missing too. It was just them and Caleb on an empty stage in an empty club.

He’d been dead for 25 years, but _this_ was super creepy. It got worse when slow clapping echoed through the entire room. Could he see where it was coming from? Could he fuck. Despite the chandeliers, sconces, lamps, and floor lighting, there was no sign of anyone making the noise. He didn’t know if ghosts could actually lose colour, but Caleb was giving it a damn good go. When he looked back at the empty room, he nearly jumped. It wasn’t empty anymore.

Seated at the very front table was a woman. Her skin was dark brown. Black as pitch curls hung down to her shoulders. The dress she had on was emerald green with a low neckline and a high slit. In another situation, she would have looked elegantly relaxed. As it was, Luke felt less than chilled looking at her. The good news was that her wicked grin was focused on Caleb.

“Katherine,” Caleb said without any of his usual flair. Luke glanced at Reggie. His eyebrows had gone further up his forehead than should be possible. Alex had that awkward smile that was more of a nervous grimace than anything else.

“Hello, Caleb,” the woman – Katherine – said with all the warmth of a ski slope. “You’ve been naughty.”

“You usually enjoy that.” Katherine shrugged one shoulder. The motion was smooth with practice. “I need new recruits.”

“What you _need_ is self-restraint. Consent is important whether you are alive, dead, or other.” Her glare could have melted the sun. Caleb went to speak but a simple raised finger was enough to stop him. “I took the liberty of removing their marks. In future, I expect you to brand people that agree to the process without coercion.”

“We’re right here!” Luke snapped. He immediately wished he hadn’t but, well, no turning back. Caleb and Katherine looked at him. He felt very exposed.

“Yes, why is that?” she asked. It was coy, like she knew the answer but asked just to rub it in. Luke frowned. Was she . . . enjoying herself? That was rude.

“Unfinished business,” Reggie said confidently. Katherine rolled her eyes.

“Oh, that old myth. Honestly, every time I think I’ve killed that idea, it reappears. It’s almost ironic.” With a snap of her fingers, a man materialised at her side. He was pretty ordinary; black, completely bald, young, and wearing too much white. “I found your lost boys. You are welcome.”

“How?” the man asked, eyeing them with unconcealed criticism. It wasn’t their fault they were ghosts!

“Does it matter? Move them on like you were supposed to in 1995 so I can go home and bathe in antiseptic.” She was grimacing at the pristine table like it was coated in slime. Wait, had she said-?

“Move us on?” Alex asked faintly.

“Yes. When you died in 1995, I was supposed to guide your souls to Heaven.” Holy shit, was he an angel? Did they even exist? And Heaven? Luke had never been religious, but he’d believed there were places after death.

“What about our unfinished business?” Reggie asked as if Katherine hadn’t dismissed that a minute before.

“Unfinished business is utter rubbish,” she said, almost sounding pained. Luke was frowning at her. So were Reggie and Alex. “There are hundreds of different possibilities after death. Good places, bad places, medium places, limbos, reincarnation. For those that believe death is the end with nothing to go on to, their souls become energy. A soul has to go somewhere. If that manifests itself as a spectral being, there is a reason for that, but it is never unfinished business.”

Luke felt like he had to catch his non-existent breath.

“Are you dead?” Reggie asked excitedly. Alex nudged him but he didn’t seem to notice.

“Demon.” He felt like “shitting hell” was probably the wrong sentiment, but it was all he could think of. “Derived of the Christian faith, but not limited to it. So yes, I’m from Hell. Captain Incompetent over here is from Heaven. Like I said, there are other options.”

“Wait – do you know why we’re here?” Luke blurted out. He honestly had no idea if she would answer, and he wasn’t confident in the angel-guy because he’d managed to lose them for 25 years, but he had to ask. There was an awkward silence.

“That’s not my story to tell.”

“There is nothing to tell,” angel guy said. He sounded pretty irritated for someone that had just been standing there. Doing nothing. Silently.

“Typical of the “good guys” to deny any wrongdoing.” Katherine was analysing her long, golden fingernails.

“We cannot just go around resurrecting people.”

“It’s relocation, not resurrection. And it wouldn’t be the first time.”

“You want to – we can – this is too much,” Alex muttered, raking his fingers through his hair. Luke recognised the first step towards a full-scale panic attack.

“Amos, you are making this worse.” The angel glowered at Katherine.

“Your souls were brought here because this is where you have always meant to be,” he finally said like the words were pulled from him. Luke sat down on the steps. His brain felt like it was trying to break through his skull. He couldn’t . . . he couldn’t think about what he felt. There was no music to pour into.

“What does that even-?” Reggie started.

“You can live here,” Amos said with the emotional capacity of a rock. That . . . did not help Luke’s crazed thoughts. Amos sighed. “When you died in 1995, your souls fell into a void. There was supposed to be a more peaceful transfer, a process to be followed. Mistakes were made. Even so, you were drawn here without help.”

“Essentially, you were born in the wrong time and he was meant to put you in the right one. Call it whatever you like. Sunset Curve were never supposed to be a thing, Julie and the Phantoms are,” Katherine said. It was somehow easier to digest coming from her.

“The _wrong time_?” Alex squeaked.

“It happens. The universe isn’t perfect.”

“I want to live,” Reggie said, stepping forward and nearly falling down the stairs. He had lit up. “How does it work? Our families, and it was only 25 years ago and-.” Amos stopped him.

“I will ensure that everything is taken care of. You will not be brought back in a position to repeat your former lives, it defeats the purpose. You will be safe.”

“What’s the catch?” Luke asked, because he had to. This sort of thing didn’t just happen. If Caleb could mark them deeply enough to start jolting them from existence, they had to be careful.

“No catch.”

“He’s right. If he’d done his job properly in the first place, you wouldn’t even be having this conversation.”

“Then why not just do it? Why talk about it?”

“Consent is important,” Katherine repeated.

“What about Willie?” Alex had lost the building terror, but he was chewing his lip. Luke swallowed at the downcast eyes and fidgeting fingers.

“Out of the question-!” With a flick of Katherine’s hand, Caleb flickered away.

“Ghosts . . . you said there was a reason for souls getting stuck like this,” Alex said. He had directed his gaze straight at Katherine. The earnest hope was like salt on a wound. Luke and Reggie silently glanced at one another, easily agreed that they’d be comforting him when the news was bad.

“Willie is of no concern to me,” Amos said. Luke stepped forward aggressively. Who the fuck did he think he was? “I need your decisions, if you please.”

They formed a band circle – without Julie, it just felt wrong, but they had to. Reggie was nodding and they knew he was game. Luke thought about his parents and the closure they’d been given when Julie showed them “Emily”. Amos had said they would be safe, but also not living their old lives, so he wouldn’t see them properly again. But what Julie had done was closure for him too. His music had always said so much more than any speech he could make. His parents had forgiven him, and he’d forgiven them.

“I want it,” he said quietly. He and Reggie eyed Alex. After 67 seconds, he nodded once, slowly. They turned as a trio. Luke took it upon himself to speak on their behalf. “Alright, de-ghost us.”

“Can you – tell Willie – uh, tell him I’m sorry?” Amos looked ready to be a dick again, but Katherine smiled. It looked pretty genuine.

“Sure thing, drummer boy.”

“You shouldn’t feel anything.” Amos reached for them all. Everything went white.

XXX

Something smelled like boiled socks and rotten cabbage. Whatever was under his body was firm and soft, like carpet. Whatever was on top of his body was heavy. For the first time in weeks, his skin felt genuinely warm. His eyebrow itched. Somewhere close by, a door squeaked open.

“I . . .” Whoever was there sighed. They sounded familiar and comforting, like hot cocoa during a storm. “I know I already said this but . . . thank you, guys.” Julie. _It was Julie._

“You’re welcome,” Reggie grunted. Whatever was on Luke’s face twitched and he recoiled. It was Reggie’s foot.

“Dude!”

Light flooded the entire room and he winced. He was in a tangled pile with Alex and Reggie, flat out beside Julie’s piano. He quickly forgot everything else when he scrambled to his feet and clapped eyes on Julie Molina.

“You – what’s going on?” Julie asked breathlessly.

“We wanted you to think we’d moved on,” Reggie said. Luke stumbled forward. He remembered everything; the Orpheum, pretending that they’d finished their business, being dragged to the club . . . it was all so clear. He had zero idea how they’d gotten there when they were supposed to be resurrected or whatever, but he didn’t really care.

“You didn’t – you have to cross over! Or join Caleb! You’ll be in pain, and please, for me, don’t be.” Julie was crying hard. She hurried into the centre of their triangle and it was clear she’d adjusted to them, because she didn’t bother getting close enough to go through them.

“We’re not going anywhere,” Luke said, no, promised. He felt it coursing through him like inspiration for a new song, or when he sang with Julie, or hugged Reggie and Alex. It was certainty. Hope. Love.

“You can’t promise that.” He took a breath and gently grabbed her hand. Everyone froze when he made contact. Her skin was soft and warm. She had long fingers, perfect for piano playing, but his hand still engulfed hers. Slowly, he lifted her palm to his chest. When she gasped, he knew she’d felt it. He couldn’t help the soft sob or his happy tears because he had a _heartbeat_.

“Yes, we can.”

Julie threw her arms around his neck. It felt so good to have that weight on him when all he’d had lately were the guys. This was someone new. He hugged back and only shifted to let Reggie and Alex in to form a band circle. Even they felt different; solid in a way that was so obviously human and alive that he cried even more.

“I love you guys,” Julie said.

“We love you too,” Alex said. All four of them were grinning. Luke’s cheeks were hurting, and it was the best pain he’d ever felt.

“What happened? How – how are you _alive_?”

“Er, have you got ten hours?”

**Author's Note:**

> EDIT:  
> Katherine is an OC I created a LONG time ago for a Harry Potter story. Since then, she's gone through many huge transformations and the only thing really left of her is her name. I've used her in various stories and fandoms, stories which will probably never see the light of day. But when it came to this story idea, I really only had one choice for the demon "casting".
> 
> Anyway, this is just the sort of intro to this planned 3 part series. I tried not to over-explain, but basically, ghost hang around because they choose to, or because of a multitude of reasons. Katherine owns Caleb's soul, and gave him all of his ghostly abilities. At some point, he will move on, and not in a good way.
> 
> Hope you loved. Next part is in progress.


End file.
